If you’ve ever tried a Swig sugar cookie, you know why they’re so famous! These soft, buttery and chewy sugar cookies with their signature sweet pink frosting have become a cult favorite at Swig soda shops, which first started in Utah and are now popping up all over. I’ve always loved visiting Swig for a fun soda and one of their irresistible sugar cookies, but if you don’t live near a location, don’t worry—you can make this Copycat Swig Cookie recipe right at home! They’re every bit as delicious, and I promise you’ll be so glad you gave them a try.
I absolutely love this copycat recipe. They are so soft and have the perfect amount of sweetness. If you are a sugar cookie fan you should also try these Easiest Cut Out Sugar Cookies!
Jump to:
Ingredients
- butter
- granulated sugar
- powdered sugar
- vegetable oil
- eggs
- sour cream
- vanilla extract
- almond extract
- flour
- salt
- baking soda
- cream of tartar
- milk
- food coloring
See exact quantities in recipe card below.
Instructions
Prepare
To get started, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 350°F. In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 1–2 minutes until creamy. Next, add the oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract, mixing for another minute until everything is well combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. With your mixer on the lowest setting, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring just until combined.
Once ready, place about ¼ cup of granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Using a medium scoop, portion out balls of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Then, take the flat bottom of a glass—or my personal favorite, the bottom of a ⅛ cup measuring cup—lightly spray it with cooking spray, dip it in sugar, and press firmly into the center of each dough ball. You’ll want the dough to spread slightly around the edges, but don’t press too far.
Bake
Place the cookies in the oven at 350°F for about 8 minutes. Keep a close eye on them—you’ll know they’re ready when the tops no longer look wet, but be sure not to let the edges brown, as that will make the cookies dry. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Frosting
While the cookies cool, you can prepare the signature frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Add in two cups of powdered sugar, then slowly mix in 3–4 tablespoons of heavy cream or half-and-half until you reach a spreadable consistency. Taste and adjust with a tiny pinch of salt if needed. For that classic Swig look, add a drop of red food coloring and whip the frosting on high for 30 seconds to a minute until fluffy and perfectly pink. Spread generously over the cooled cookies and get ready to enjoy a bakery-style treat at home!
Serving & Storage
In case you have never been....Swig serves their cookies cold. So I like to keep my iced cookies in the fridge! However, I let them warm up just a bit before eating.
Mine keep in the fridge nicely for 4-5 days. They also freeze really well! Keep some in the freezer for up to 3 months and have a treat when you please!
Equipment
You will definitely appreciate a stand mixer for this recipe. I also have some cookie baking favorite tools that I use. Click my affiliate link HERE to see many of my baking essentials. You may see something you need to try!
Top Tips
- Be sure not to over bake. I pull mine out at 8 minutes as long as they all look dry. Once the wet look is gone they are done. I promise they are not raw...they are perfect!
- Use room temperature butter, not melted. It makes all the difference.
Cookies to Try
- Reese's Thins Peanut Butter Cookies
- Easiest Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Chewiest Thinnest Oatmeal Cookies!
- Snickerdoodles
- Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies are especially darling if you’re heading to a pink-themed gathering, but the fun part is that you can make the frosting any color you like! Swig’s signature look is pink, so I kept with that classic theme here. That said, I love this recipe so much that you’ll definitely see me making it again at Christmas—only with festive red or green frosting instead. It’s such a simple way to customize them for any occasion… but shhh, don’t tell everyone my secret! HAHA!
FAQs
Nope! Just replace with vanilla.
No, Not at all. The sour cream in the dough actually adds to its texture with out any flavor. I use just enough in the frosting for it to make it the classic Swig frosting. Not enough to be over powering.
Just bake until the wetness is gone. Do not wait for any golden coloring. Or your cookie will be dry.
You will want your cookie to be a thickness of ¼-1/2". I like a thicker Swig cookie so I only press slightly to ½" thickness.
Story Time
Back in early 2015—long before I even knew what Swig sugar cookies were—my youngest, who was about 8 at the time, really started to love baking. That summer he would flip through our cookbooks looking for new recipes to try, and one day he decided he wanted to make sugar cookies. Off to the internet we went in search of something different, and we stumbled upon a blog with a recipe for Swig cookies. To him, they looked unique, and the name itself was so unusual that we just had to try them. Of course, he gave them his own twist by making the frosting bright blue. HAHA!
Fast forward to 2016, we were on a trip to Utah and happened to come across a small soda shop in Provo. We went inside, and to our surprise—there were the famous Swig cookies! Only this time they were even better than we imagined. From then on, every visit to Utah (especially once my daughter started school there) included a stop at Swig for a fun soda and, of course, one of their iconic sugar cookies.
Cookies to Try Soon
- Valentine M&M Cookie Bars
- Peanut Butter Reese's Hearts Cookies
- Peanut Butter Reese's Christmas Tree Cookies
- Santa's Favorite Cookies
Copycat Swig Cookies
Equipment
- XL baking sheets these fit 20 cookies each
- cooling racks these are oven and dishwasher safe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup oil canola or vegetable
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 5 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Flattening cookies
- ¼ cup sugar
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoons milk, heavy cream or half and half
- pinch salt
- pink or red food coloring
Instructions
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars for about 1–2 minutes until light and creamy. Add the oil, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract, mixing for another minute until everything is well combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. With your mixer on the lowest setting, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring just until combined. Be careful not to overmix the dough.
- Place about ¼ cup of granulated sugar into a shallow dish. Using a medium scoop, portion out balls of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Then, take the flat bottom of a glass—or my personal favorite, the bottom of a ⅛ cup measuring cup—lightly spray it with cooking spray, dip it in the sugar, and press firmly into the center of each dough ball. You’ll want the dough to spread slightly around the edges, but don’t press too far. I prefer my cookies a bit thicker, so about ½-inch thickness is just right for me. But you can press until ¼ inch thickness as well. From here, no need to respray the bottom—the grease from the cookies will naturally keep it from sticking.
- Bake for about 8 minutes. Keep a close eye on them—you’ll know they’re ready when the tops no longer look wet, but be sure not to let the edges brown, as that will make the cookies dry. Let them cool on the baking sheet for about five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
- While the cookies cool, prepare the signature frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Add in two cups of powdered sugar, then slowly mix in 3–4 tablespoons of milk until you reach a spreadable consistency. Taste and adjust with a tiny pinch of salt if needed. For that classic Swig look, add a drop of red food coloring and whip the frosting on high for 30 seconds to a minute until fluffy and perfectly pink.
Eric says
They taste great!
Misty Tannery says
So glad you like them!